April 03, 2013

neutered

I have three boys. Give them a toy snake and a toy rhino, and the rhino will charge the snake while the snake tries to eat the rhino. Give Jubilee the same two toys, and the snake will be taking a nap under a blanket while Jubilee builds an enclosure for the rhino out of Jenga blocks.

Boys and girls are different. Which brings me to yesterday's veterinary adventure.

I won't lie, I am incredibly fond of our little pet, George Fuzzy, a floppy-eared, 2-lb furball who makes our apartment smell the slightest bit like a petting zoo.

But when three weeks ago, he started acting strange, I was dismayed. First of all, he took a strong liking to me, hopping around and around and around my feet and grunting. Yes, I said grunting.

Yeah.

And second of all, he took a strong disliking to the boys, particularly Zion, and began biting and scratching at them when they came in close to snuggle like they've always done. Zion noticed he was being singled out and he was crushed, crying, "I feel like George Fuzzy doesn't like me anymore."

A simple Google search pinpointed our problem. Our bunny needed to get snipped. His behavior with me was a typical rabbit mating ritual called "circling" (GROOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSS) and he was showing aggression toward the boys because he felt threatened by them.

Good news for us, there is a Canadian veterinarian in town, who lives here to work on the pandas and help farmers with their livestock, but who also works on pets like George. Yesterday, we loaded George into a taxi, with the kids and I all crammed in the backseat, and headed across the city to get him neutered.

Today, George is not circling. George is not grunting. George is not biting or scratching. He is moving rather slowly, in fact. But even after he has healed, the doc assures us that George will be a different, more docile rabbit. The doctor even showed me the white, furry sacks which now hung limp, crusted with blood, from George's underside.

"I cut these sacks open," the doc told me, "and removed the source of your bunny's aggression. They should heal on their own now, without sutures."

Back to the illustration with the toy snake and the toy rhino. What would George do, if you gave him those two toys, now that the "source of his aggression" has been removed? Well, he'd probably chew on the toys, because he's just a dumb rabbit, but that's not the point. The point is, boys and girls are different. They have very different roles to play on this planet. I saw the blood-crusted evidence of this yesterday. There is only one way to have "equality" between the sexes - if you consider the word "identical" to be synonymous with "equal" - and that is with a strong anesthetic and a scalpel. OUCH.

Don't neuter the hearts and minds of the men in this world. (I refer now to all the maddening hubbub on Facebook these days)

About Kayla Rupp

I live in East Asia. 15 years ago, I left Michigan and married an Arkansan with a winning smile, noticeable biceps, and a big heart for the L0RD. As a kid, I always thought I would grow up to lead wilderness expeditions, write novels, or become a famous chef. Turns out I'm a home-school mom in a foreign country who writes for fun, and loves making dinner at the end of the day. Close enough.